54 PL & P
Project Update
The VLZ range of luminaires from Signify ’ s Vari-Lite brand were harnessed to light up Egypt ’ s treasured historic landmarks for a procession of 22 ancient pharaohs through the streets of Cairo . The Golden Parade event , which showcased the mummified pharaohs as they were transported from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilizations four miles away in al-Fustat , Old Cairo , was organized by The Ministry of Tourism and Antiques . The event ’ s technical production team approached Hamed Arafa of rental house Hi-Lights Group – a Vari-Lite and Strand distributor in Egypt – who proposed Vari-Lite VLZ Profile and VLZ Wash luminaries to bring light and colour to the visual spectacle .
“ We knew that Vari-Lite produces the quality of light we wanted . The VLZ Profile and VLZ Wash offer the latest high-output LED sources and use unbeatable advancements in quality , zoom lenses , and shutter technology ,” says Arafa . The Hi-Lights team collaborated with Lighting Director Maria Younan of Cairo-based design studio Siraj Lighting to design and deliver the event . Younan specializes in exterior architectural lighting design and took up the challenge of truly shining a light on Egypt ’ s magical past by using the lighting technology of the future .
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PHOTO : TODD KAPLAN
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Country music star Thomas Rhett recently returned to the road for an eight-week U . S . tour of outdoor amphitheatres . For it , lighting designer Alec Takahashi incorporated pods of Elation Dartz 360 LED moving heads as the centerpiece of the show . Lighting was supplied by Upstaging .
“ Initially , we were designing for a couple of TV performances , as well as a livestream event ,” Takahashi explains . “ I thought it was very important to keep the scenic design and theme throughout the album cycle cohesive with what the tour would look like . I wanted everything to match and be on-brand as far as visuals . From there , we brainstormed the initial TV performances and slowly formed the tour design . Ultimately , we came up with the design that is currently on the road . There have been revisions along the way but we landed on a place that feels really good and matches this album theme and cycle very well .”
The new Worre Studios in Las Vegas features 360-degree curved LED displays with over 65 million pixels . Advanced LED Displays , a division of Agility AVL , which designed and integrated the project , selected a Christie Spyder X80 multi-windowing processor to drive content to the massive walls .
Worre Studios needed a virtual space to host multiple upcoming events that had been scheduled at the MGM Garden Arena . The team had just three months for ideation and design , and then just 70 days for creation and install of the 25,000-sq . -ft . production studio and event space . It required broadcast-quality audio , video equipment , and displays capable of hosting live events with realtime interactivity between hosts and attendees . “ The walls grew in size , and tightened in radius . At that point , we knew we needed some serious processing to handle it – and most processors can ’ t handle a wall of this size . It was not an option to do anything other than the Spyder X80 ,” says Art Martinez , VP of business development at Advanced LED Displays .
Banijay Productions Germany recently produced a unique live two-day sports show on behalf of RTL . During the two days of the RTL Sommerspiele ( RTL Summer Games ), 32 celebrities from 15 nations competed against each other in various Olympic disciplines . The event was held in the Quarterback Immobilien Arena in Leipzig . LD Arkin Atacan from Atacan Design , who was responsible for the lighting and media design of the location , based this technically-demanding production largely on fixtures from GLP , with around 350 moving heads used for various lighting purposes .
In live usage for the first time , Atacan had 24 of the new GLP Fusion FS16 Z LED battens , which he had previously closely auditioned as part of a product preview . Four FS16 Z battens were installed vertically on top of each other on six towers , all of which were placed in the performance area of the athletes , where they created dynamic show light effects . As well , 150 GLP impression X4 Ls served as audience lights . Sixty impression X4 Bar 20s were installed in a tunnel during archery and six impression S350 Washes as keylights put the presenters in a camera-compatible light .
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